


Seeking Warmth

by Leni



Category: Alpha and Omega - Patricia Briggs
Genre: F/M, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2018-02-19 21:06:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2402879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leni/pseuds/Leni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A snippet of Anna's life in Aspen Creek.</p><p>"Anna pawed at the snow, more out of frustration than because she expected to find a clue buried beneath."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seeking Warmth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [likewinning](https://archiveofourown.org/users/likewinning/gifts).



> Written for Likewinning at [Comment Fic](http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/562317.html?thread=79161229#t79161229). Prompt: **boys who are part wolf and part wind do not get cold**

Anna pawed at the snow, more out of frustration than because she expected to find a clue buried beneath. It had been at least two hours since she'd felt anything approaching warmth, and the whole of Aspen Creek seemed to conspire to hide her quarry from her. "It'll be fun," Charles had said, "and it's time you learn your way in the woods, anyway."

And because she always enjoyed going out on a run with her mate, Anna had agreed.

Little had she known that a blizzard was coming - and if she found out that Charles _had_ , she'd be sending him with his tail literally between his legs to the Marrok. Bran would probably pack him back to their home, as he believed that each wolf belonged in their own piece of their territory, but the gesture needed to be made.

At least there wouldn't be any lectures or sage advice from the old wolf. The whole pack - the whole world, probably - knew that Bran didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to mated couples.

Of course, Bran wasn't so besotted with Leah that he willingly set himself up for a miserable, cold afternoon in the middle of nowhere.

 _Yes,_ Anna decided, _he's the smart one._

Anna huffed in annoyance, sending a flurry of snowflakes floating away from her muzzle, and started trudging her way to a clearing she dimly remembered from the last pack hunt. If Charlie wasn't waiting for her, she'd call it quits.

Usually she could drag enough stubbornness from the bottom of her self to make it through any new challenge. But all her reserves seemed to have frozen along with her nose and the tips of her ears. All she wanted now was to go back home and dry her pelt in front of the fire before she started the painful change back to her human form and took the hottest bath she could wrangle out of their pipes.

A part of herself whined a little, upset at the thought of disappointing her mate, but Anna hushed herself up. The first lesson Charles had taught her was to stand up to her own well-being, and traipsing half-lost through the snow was not how she'd win his respect.

And she _really_ needed that hot bath.

She had walked half-way to her destination, when she felt the familiar tug of their mating bond tug at her. _There you are,_ said Charles' voice.

Anna wondered why he sounded so relieved.

 _Because I've been looking everywhere,_ he answered. _It's not safe to be out here when the weather turns mean_.

If Anna could have buried her head between her paws (a passable translation for hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand, when in wolf form) without getting her underbelly in contact with the cold ground, she'd have done so. Instead she looked around, trying to spot him so he could lead the way home.

Now that Charles was here, Anna could admit to herself that she'd been more turned around than she'd wanted to accept.

When she couldn't find him, she yipped.

Then yipped louder.

Suddenly a hand caught the back of her neck in a gentle grasp.

Any other person would have found his wrist in a warning hold between her teeth, but she recognized Charles' touch instantly. Besides, who else would be in human form out here? Only the son of the Marrok, the grandson of a medicine man who'd learned the secrets of the wind and the trees and had made Charles the heir of his knowledge. Charles probably hadn't thought the blizzard would be a problem until they got separated.

"Next time, stay in one place. You're a difficult one to track," he told her, and though the words were reproving, his eyes danced with smugness. That his city-bred mate could handle herself in the wildness, probably. "I lost your scent for an hour out there."

Anna decided to go with that version of the story. She pressed herself against his legs, sticking her nose between his thighs to seek some warmth. 

Charles laughed. "Cold?"

Anna whined.

An instant later his wolf-form stood beside her, licking between her eyes and up to her much-needy ears. _Let's get home, Anna._

She let out a short happy howl, and set to follow him.

 

The End  
04/10/14


End file.
